The Scion brand is struggling, and Toyota needs to figure out what to do with it. A number of industry-watchers think it's a "distraction" for Toyota, and that Toyota would be better served by focusing their energies and money on the Toyota brand.
"Toyota doesn't need Scion," said Art Spinella, president of CNW Research, Bandon, Ore. "They should have spent the money on developing Toyota-branded products," he said, comparing Scion to Saturn, which some critics say distracted GM from improving its established brands.
brn says:
06:08 AM, 08/11/08
Sure sales in 2007 are down from 2006, but 2006 was their best year ever. 2008 is on track to beat 2007. I can't say that I'm a fan of Scion, but it doesn't seem like it's doing to bad at all.
autoboy16 says:
07:35 AM, 08/11/08
Of course the 2007 sales were down! They only had one model, the tC. The XA and XB were on hiatus that year. Now with 3 models again, of course the sales will be higher.
Toyota just needs to fix a few errors in the brand:
Xa is great, but horrible for taller people. Lower seats and longer seat track would help.
Xb that was once famus for its excellent visibility now has horribile visibillity. Otherwise, its a great car... Hey whats up with the single reverse light? Why no panoramic sunroof? 2.5l v6 or turbo 2.4 instead of supercharged would help.
tC is too heavy and too slow. It should have a turbo 1.8 (150-170hp) engine and a sportier chassis. Also the japaneese paper dash has got to go!
All three of these cars could benefit from a small turbo engine 5-6AT more luxurious features (heated seats, velour if not leather seats, and less plastic/better materials would help).
Finally, why can't scion use some minor lexus options? The ES uses the tC's sunroof. Why cant the tC use the Is's 2.5v6 or RWD platform? A RWD tC would be great! The RX uses the tC's flint mica(grey) paint but why cant all the scions use a nice metallic red paint?
-Cj
heffling says:
07:53 AM, 08/11/08
Scion is very popular with younger adults that I know, especially those who like to be "trendy".
brianaustintx says:
08:33 AM, 08/11/08
I think everyone keeps forgetting the main reason why Toyota created the Scion brand in the first place: no haggle pricing. Because of the iron-clad arrangement Toyota has with its dealer network, the only way they could dictate flat pricing was to create a completely new brand. Consumer surveys show time and again that young people (honestly, most people in general) hate haggling/negotiating with car dealers over price. All the other reasons for Scions’ existence are a bit more nebulous. I’m still amazed Toyota was able to trick so many gullible teenagers into thinking a boxy minivan (xB) is cool. It’s amazing what slick marketing can do.
ateixeira says:
09:56 AM, 08/11/08
I think the xA and xB grew a lot just when the market was headed in the other direction (downsizing for fuel efficiency). The xB in particular isn't nearly as fuel efficient as the model it replaced.
I also agree that visibility suffered dramatically on both models. Designers should keep that in mind for the future models.
Scion will be fine, though.
carlisimo says:
09:58 AM, 08/11/08
When grown-ups hate something, it becomes cool.
But I think the ideas behind Scion are sound - it's just that Toyota hasn't been following them. The xA and xB were followed up by logical updates, bigger in every dimension, more powerful, more mature... the Toyota way of doing things. Not radical, not interesting, not cool. The new cars appeal to normal people rather than the artsy folk who fell for the originals.
They also have to realize that low price and high fuel economy were a huge selling point, especially among their intended market. Stop replacing small engines with big ones. Keep them practical - the new xB is worse for taller drivers than the old one. And add some color to the pallette.
mirth says:
10:13 AM, 08/11/08
Scion was all about the xB - it used to be cool and very different from anything else. Then they turned it into a Toyota Matrix basically, so there went it's cachet. The xA was always a dud, and the xD followed in it's footsteps. The tC was an okay coupe, but not really different enough to sustain the "excitement". So Scion has turned into just another car brand.
iskch says:
10:25 AM, 08/11/08
The Scion brand lost identity with the round nose of the new cars that look like Toyota's. The XB grew up too much. A little bit of more refinement with a 1.8 liter was the way to go in my opinion. The XA to XD? The XA name was fine.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
05:11 PM, 08/11/08
Perhaps part of the problem is the "generation" Toyota's trying to sell Scion to doesn't want to be sold or told anything. The "generation" wants to discover their wants "on their own", then spread the word around amongst their friends via gurrella marketing, etc.
So how is Toyota supposed to figure out what this "generation" actually wants? Do market surveys work? Did Toyota actually follow the market surveys they got from the "generation"?
For that matter, what is the hot car among the young these days? A tuned Civic? Lifted Truck?
estreka says:
05:34 PM, 08/11/08
"When grown-ups hate something, it becomes cool"
Maybe that's the problem. A lot of old people drive Scions.
mirth says:
09:05 AM, 08/12/08
Toyota needs to bring over some of the truly bizarre (from an American point of view) Japanese vehicles and make them Scions. That's what drove the success of the original xB. As soon as they tried to super-size/Americanize them, they lost their way. Scion should be about grabbing people's attention with things they don't normally see on the road.